{"id":3807,"date":"2018-05-20T15:36:39","date_gmt":"2018-05-20T19:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailysew.com\/?p=3807"},"modified":"2018-05-20T15:36:39","modified_gmt":"2018-05-20T19:36:39","slug":"sew-a-narrow-hem-by-hand-and-by-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/sew-a-narrow-hem-by-hand-and-by-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Sew a Narrow Hem by Hand and by Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3810\" src=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-a-narrow-hem-main.jpg\" alt=\"how to sew a narrow rolled hem and a narrow hem by sewing machine\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-a-narrow-hem-main.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-a-narrow-hem-main-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-a-narrow-hem-main-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the last post, we went over stitches to use for a basic hem.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But some garments and some fabrics\u00a0require a narrow hem. Really narrow, like \u215b\u201d or 3mm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The best way to sew a narrow hem? That depends.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5H9rrfz8Ge8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this video, I demonstrate how to sew a narrow hem by hand, a narrow rolled hem, and by machine with a hemmer foot. The hemmer foot can be tricky but I\u2019ve got some tips for that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are advantages to both methods. With the hand rolled hem you have complete control over the stitches so you can be sure the ends and corners are clean. This is important when the hem is going to be at eye level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the advantage of the machine stitched narrow hem is it\u2019s a heck of a lot faster. Which is good when you have a lot of fabric to hem like a hem of a dress or skirt<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>The Close-ups and Details<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3813\" src=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-2.jpg\" alt=\"how to sew a narrow rolled hem and a narrow hem by sewing machine\" width=\"1000\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-2-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-2-768x459.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>The Narrow Rolled Hem<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a hand stitch but if you have a sewing machine start by machine stitching \u00bc inch from the edge. The machine stitching serves as a guide and makes it a little easier to roll the edge. If you don\u2019t have a sewing machine you can still sew a narrow rolled hem, of course. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trim the seam allowance down by about half. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use your thumb and forefinger of your sewing hand and roll the edge of the fabric toward the wrong side of the fabric. You want a small tight roll that swallows up the raw edge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be sure to roll up the line of machine stitches. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3814\" src=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-3.jpg\" alt=\"how to sew a narrow rolled hem and a narrow hem by sewing machine\" width=\"1000\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-3-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-3-768x459.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use a slip stitch to stitch the roll down. The needle picks up a couple threads of the garment and then travels \u00bc inch through the roll.\u00a0It then pops out and takes up a thread or two of the garment. Then back into the roll for a quarter inch. Over and over.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3812\" src=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-1.jpg\" alt=\"how to sew a narrow rolled hem and a narrow hem by sewing machine\" width=\"1000\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-1-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-1-768x459.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now there is another way to do this if you are working on stiffer fabric like a linen or fine cotton lawn. Start with the machine stitch and trim down as before.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of rolling the edge, fold it to the wrong side of the fabric. The line of machine stitching will be folded to the wrong side. Finger crease the fold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pick up about 2 threads of the fabric next to the raw edge. Then the needle goes up and diagonally and is\u00a0inserted into the fold. Then back down into the fabric near the edge. Don&#8217;t pull the thread yet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make about an inch worth of stitches at a time before pulling the thread tight. When you pull the thread it will &#8220;roll&#8221; the edge for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember with either of these you want to keep your thread tension not too tight and certainly not too loose. It\u2019s easy to pull them too tight. So watch out for that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Machine Stitched Narrow Hem<\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3815\" src=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-4.jpg\" alt=\"how to sew a narrow rolled hem and a narrow hem by sewing machine\" width=\"1000\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-4.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-4-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-narrow-hem-stitch-4-768x459.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To machine stitch a narrow hem you could measure, fold and press fabric under twice and stitch. Or you could use a hemmer foot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Although it isn&#8217;t the easiest foot to use, once you practice and get the hang of it it will save you SO much time and burnt fingers.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hemmer foot has a coil looking flange at the front. The coil determines the width of your narrow hem. Some machine manufacturers make an assortment of widths some make only one hemmer foot. Really, I say, one is enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll want to watch the video for how to get started and how to hold the fabric so it feeds into the coil consistently. But to sum up<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the hemmer foot on the machine, but the fabric flat and not in the coil, sew a straight stitch close to the edge for about \u00bd inch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Lift up the foot and pull the fabric back to the beginning. Do not clip any threads or remove the fabric.<\/li>\n<li>Guide, feed and wiggle the fabric into the coil. Grab the thread tails with your left hand to help pull the fabric into the coil.<\/li>\n<li>Once you have it in, lower the hemmer foot and sew. You want the raw edge of your fabric to hit the left groove of the foot. (again, see the video for a good visual)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can\u2019t tell you enough that this stitch takes practice to find what works best for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3816\" src=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/P1000358-e1526672653369.jpg\" alt=\"How to sew a narrow rolled hem and a narrow hem by sewing machine\" width=\"1000\" height=\"751\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have a hemmer foot for your machine try it out &#8211; don\u2019t be scared. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you enjoy some hand sewing, hemming by hand gives you more control. Either way, enjoy your sewing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the last post, we went over stitches to use for a basic hem.\u00a0But some garments and some fabrics\u00a0require a narrow hem. Really narrow, like \u215b\u201d or 3mm.\u00a0 The best way to sew a narrow hem? That depends. In this video, I demonstrate how to sew a narrow hem by hand, a narrow rolled hem, [&hellip;]&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/sew-a-narrow-hem-by-hand-and-by-machine\/\" class=\"post-read-more\">Read more&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,275],"tags":[68,49,285,328],"class_list":["post-3807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sewing-skills","category-sewing-tips","tag-hand-sewing","tag-hand-stitches","tag-hem","tag-narrow-hem"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-5-tds-bg-sew-a-narrow-hem-ft.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EZxn-Zp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3807"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3819,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3807\/revisions\/3819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}